· Fight Guide: March 2011

March will be a time to sit down on your couch with a nice big bowl of popcorn and your remote handy to enjoy a healthy dose of fights. The best part—it won’t hurt your wallet, as just one pay-per-view event is scheduled for the month. The rest can be seen on basic or premium cable, including events from UFC, Strikeforce, Bellator, Shark Fights, Titan FC, and M-1 Challenge.

Mar 03 – "UFC on Versus 3: Sanchez vs. Kampmann" (Versus)
The UFC’s new deal with Versus kicks off from Louisville, Kentucky, and a welterweight tilt between two fighters looking to rebound from losses will headline as Diego Sanchez faces Martin Kampmann. C.B. Dollaway will also look to continue a three-fight winning streak against wrestling machine Mark Munoz, and top prospect Chris Weidman will make his UFC debut as a late replacement to take on Alessio Sakara. The main card will be rounded out by a bantamweight battle between former WEC champion Brian Bowles and Damacio Page, as the lighter weight fighters return to Versus for the first time since December.

Mar 05 – "Strikeforce Columbus: Feijao vs. Henderson" (Showtime)
Strikeforce makes its first appearance in Ohio, and the event will be held in conjunction with the annual Arnold Sports Festival in Central Ohio. Two title fights headline the card, as Dan Henderson challenges Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante for the light heavyweight title and undefeated prospect Liz Carmouche challenges Marloes Coenen for the women’s welterweight title. Tim Kennedy vs. Melvin Manhoef and Jorge Masvidal vs. Billy Evangelista will also be part of a stacked main card.

Mar 05 – "Bellator 35: Welterweight Quarterfinals" (MTV2)
A highly intriguing matchup between strikers Lyman Good and Chris Lozano will headline the opening bout of the fourth Bellator season from Lemoore, California. Good, the former Bellator champion, is more of a boxer, and he’ll take on the undefeated Lozano, an unorthodox striker who doesn’t hesitate to throw spinning backfists and rogue punches. The other three matchups feature Jay Hieron vs. Anthony Lapsley, Dan Hornbuckle vs. Brent Weedman, and Jim Wallhead vs. Rick Hawn. Newly married Bellator women’s champion Zoila Frausto-Gurgel will also be in action at the event.

Mar 11 – "Shark Fights 14: Villefort vs. Horwich" (HDNet)
After a successful pay-per-view event in September, Texas-based Shark Fights has signed a deal to air its events on HDNet. Kicking things off on March 11 in Amarillo, Texas will be a middleweight contest between UFC veterans Danillo Villefort and Matt Horwich. An interesting rematch between light heavyweight sluggers James Irvin and Houston Alexander will serve as the night’s co-main event.

Mar 12 – "Bellator 36: Lightweight Quarterfinals" (MTV2)
Bellator will make its third trip to Louisiana as it heads to Shreveport for the first time with all four quarterfinal fights of the season four lightweight tournament. Some very intriguing matchups are on tap, as two-time tournament finalist Toby Imada will return to take on former Olympic judoka Ferrid Kheder in what will likely be the night’s main event. UFC and WEC veteran Rob McCullough will take on Patricky Freire, the brother of featherweight tournament participant Patricio “Pitbull." 19-year-old Polish prodigy Marcin Held will take on wrestler Michael Chandler, and season two semifinalist Carey Vanier will face undefeated prospect Lloyd Woodard in the night’s final matchup.

Mar 19 – "UFC 128: Shogun vs. Jones" (PPV, $44.95)
The meteoric rise of Jon Jones could reach its pinnacle on March 19 in New Jersey, as he’ll return to the cage just six weeks after his demolition of Ryan Bader to challenge Maruricio “Shogun” Rua for the UFC light heavyweight title. Former WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber will make his UFC debut, and he’ll take on fellow bantamweight Eddie Wineland for a likely shot at Dominick Cruz’s belt. Lightweight contender Jim Miller will welcome undefeated WEC veteran Kamal Shalorus to the UFC, and international fighters Yoshihiro Akiyama and Mirko Cro Cop will round out the main card against Nate Marquardt and Brendan Schaub.

Mar 19 – "Bellator 37: Featherweight Quarterfinals" (MTV2)
Bellator will make its first of four season four appearances in Oklahoma when the organization heads to the Lucky Star Casino in Concho for four featherweight quarterfinal fights. Undefeated 19-0 Brazilian super-prospect Nazareno Malegarie will make his U.S. debut against Daniel Straus, who is riding an impressive ten-fight win streak. Former EliteXC bantamweight champion and two-time Bellator tournament runner-up Wilson Reis will return to action, and he will take on Team Quest product Zac George in the first round. Season two finalist Patricio “Pitbull” Freire will return to face former semifinalist Georgi Karakhanyan and the final bout will pit Kenny Foster vs. Eric Larkin.

Mar 25 – "Titan FC 17: Lashley vs. Jack" (HDNet)
Former WWE star Bobby Lashley will return to the cage for the first time since losing to Chad Griggs in Strikeforce last year, and he will take on journeyman James Jack in the night’s main event. Fresh off of an upset knockout over Tim Sylvia, Abe Wagner will return to take on Strikeforce veteran Aaron Rosa. Finally, UFC veteran Phil Baroni will make his Titan FC debut against Strikeforce and Bellator veteran Nick Nolte.

Mar 25 – M-1 Challenge 24 (Showtime)
M-1 Challenge will make its debut on Showtime as part of a four-event deal for 2011. Artiom Damkovsky will put his lightweight title on the line against 2010 M-1 Challenge Americas winner Jose Figueroa, and middleweight champion Magomed Sultanakhmedov will defend against Tyson Jeffries. TUF 8 runner-up Vinny Magalhaes will also be a part of the event.

Mar 26 – "UFN 24: Nogueira vs. Davis" (Spike TV)
Tito Ortiz was forced to pull out of the UFN 24 main event against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, but undefeated former NCAA wrestling champion Phil Davis stepped up and will take on “Lil Nog” in the headliner of the UFC’s first show in Seattle. Welterweight contenders Dan Hardy and Anthony Johnson will slug it out in the co-main event, and Nam Phan will get his rematch with Leonard Garcia after the judging of their December bout received criticism. A welterweight bout between TUF 7 champ Amir Sadollah and Duane Ludwig rounds out the main card.

Mar 26 – "Bellator 38: Light Heavyweight Quarterfinals" (MTV2)
A venue has yet to be set for Bellator 38, but all four light heavyweight quarterfinals are expected to be part of the event. Daniel Gracie will take on undefeated Pennsylvania fighter Tim Carpenter in one of the four bouts, and the other six participants include Chris Davis, Christian M’Pumbu, D.J. Linderman, Nik Fekete, Richard Hale, and Raphael Davis.

Mar 30 – "The Ultimate Fighter 13" Debut (Spike TV)
Fourteen welterweights will be split into teams to be coached by UFC heavyweights Brock Lesnar and Junior Dos Santos. The fourteen fighters will battle it out in the TUF house for a chance at a guaranteed UFC contract.

Other events:

Mar 04 – Ultimate Reno Combat 23 (GoFightLive.tv, $9.99)
Mar 05 – Combat USA 2 (GoFightLive.tv, $9.99)
Mar 11 – Fight Night Round XIII (GoFightLive.tv, $9.99)
Mar 12 – Evolution Fighting Championships 6 (GoFightLive.tv, $9.99)
Mar 12 – Tuff-N-Uff: Future Stars of MMA (GoFightLive.tv, $9.99)
Mar 18 – Ring of Fire (GoFightLive.tv, Price TBD)